WELL, THAT SUCKS: Ric Locke — a blogger who’s probably best known to InstaPundit readers as the author of Temporary Duty, a terrific first novel that now, alas, will also be a terrific last novel — has reportedly died of the lung cancer that was discovered not long ago. He will be missed.

UPDATE: On Ric’s Facebook page, Tom Kratman observes: “Ya know, Social Security was going to withhold his checks because he’d made a few bucks with TDY. Now they can’t. If that doesn’t put a smile on Ric’s shade I can’t imagine what would. Three cheers for Ric for cheating the fiscal hangmen!”